Brad Thorn set to extend his stay as Reds coach

Triumphant coach Brad Thorn is set to extend his Queensland tenure following the Reds’ Super Rugby AU title win.

News Corp Australia has learnt that talks between the Queensland Rugby Union and Thorn – currently on a one-year deal that he signed last October – about a contract extension have been positive, with Saturday’s 19-16 grand final victory over the Brumbies further proof the dual international’s importance to the Reds’ program.

Thorn joined the QRU in 2015 as the development squad’s forwards coach, and two years later coached the Queensland under 20 team to a title.

He took charge of the Reds ahead of the 2018 Super Rugby season, took them to last year’s Super Rugby AU grand final and went one better in a near-flawless 2021 campaign.

Thorn’s attention now switches to the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition, with the Reds starting their campaign on Friday night in Dunedin against the Highlanders.

Despite the Reds’ Australian title success, the Queenslanders are ranked behind the five New Zealand teams in the new competition.

And that’s fine with Super Rugby AU grand final man-of-the-match Fraser McReight, who is happy for the Reds to claim underdog status.

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“It’s all white noise – we don’t really care what anybody else has to say,” McReight said on Tuesday.

“We got shown this morning where the betting markets view us. We’re not even in the top five, so we’re going there like an underdog.

“In the past historically, the Queensland Reds play very well against New Zealand sides. We love attacking rugby and they play very similar to us.

“They’re going to be great games and we really can’t wait to play the New Zealand sides.

“We’re a team that probably didn’t know how to win but now we know how to win.

“We all have this belief within this group that we can win this competition.

“It’s a big ask and a big job to do. We’re just taking it one game at a time and it’s the process, not the result, that we’re looking after.”

McReight said Thorn had drilled into the Reds the importance of leaving their Super Rugby AU success in the past to focus on the challenge of beating the Kiwi teams. “That (grand final win) is something no-one can ever take away from us, but … we can’t focus and dwell on it too much,” he said.

“The job’s not done. We play this Friday. It’s a quick turnaround.

“We’ve got to move forward. We’ve had that moment but we’ve got another job to do.”

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